Policy
Subject:
Approval Date:
Review Date:
Review By:
Number:
Continuing Professional Development Program
November 2004, Revised August 2005, Revised March 2006,
March 2008, August 2009, November 2009, February 2010,
July 2011, September 2012, November 2013, August 2015,
February 2016
February 2018
Board of Education and Assessment
4/2004
The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia has a mandatory requirement for Fellows,
Fellows of Faculties and Affiliates of the College in active practice to participate in the RCPA
Continuing Professional Development Program (CPDP), or, for overseas members other
than New Zealand, an equivalent formally structured program in their country of domicile
Trainees and Overseas Trained Specialists (OTS)/Area of Need (AON) doctors undertaking
additional training, examinations or assessment to attain Fellowship may also participate.
Participation in CPDP of other Colleges or programs will no longer be acceptable for
Australian and New Zealand members from the calendar year beginning January 2016.

The CPDP is developed, promoted, monitored and evaluated by the Board of Education
and Assessment. Significant changes to the Program are endorsed by the Board of
Directors.

Activities undertaken for continuing professional development should reflect the
participant’s practice profile.

The CPDP requirement is for 500 hours over a 5 year cycle, commencing from the
Fellow’s first submission since the new program began in 2003 with a maximum of 200
hours accumulated in any one year.

Participants working part time are required to complete the full number of hours for the
Program.

Fellows who are not up to date with respect to CPDP, will not be given a Certificate of
Good Standing if requested.

Participants are required to maintain a suitable record of their CPDP activities.

A summary of CPDP hours are to be submitted no later than 31 March of each year for
activities undertaken in the previous calendar year.

A Certificate of Participation, stating the number of hours of continuing professional
development undertaken can be printed from the website for electronic submissions or
will be provided for manual submissions received by the due date.

A random audit of 5% of CPDP returns will be undertaken each year, requiring the
individual submission of documentation as determined by the substantiation requirements
set out in the RCPA CPDP Information Manual.

Category A (Group Activities/Meetings) and Category B (Personal Study) elements of the
CPDP both have a minimum requirement of 20 hours per annum with activities coming
from at least 2 of the codes in each Category in the Information Manual. Category C
(Quality Activities), has a minimum requirement of 10 hours per annum with activities
coming from at least 2 of the codes in the Information Manual. Commencing in January
2016, anatomical pathologists are required to complete 20 hours per annum in Category
C, of which 10 hours must be peer review activities. It is envisaged that this requirement
will be extended to other disciplines at a later date.
CPDP and international practitioners
To further clarify the requirements for practitioners outside Australia and New Zealand:
Fellows who live in countries other than Australia and New Zealand and are not registered to
practice medicine in Australia and or New Zealand may participate in their country of
domicile Pathology College/Organisation CPD Program and be compliant with the RCPA
CPD requirements. All such programs must be approved by the College. If however they
wish to apply for Medical Registration in Australia or New Zealand, the College will only
support this application if they can demonstrate at least 12 months of compliance with RCPA
CPD requirements.
Fellows who live in countries other than Australia and New Zealand and are registered to
practice medicine in Australia and or New Zealand must participate in the RCPA CPD
program or apply to the BEA for possible special dispensation.
CPDP and recency of practice
Absence from active practice for this purpose is defined as a continuous period during which
no practice of pathology is undertaken. The absence from practice may occur across two
calendar years and CPDP hours can be accrued on return to active practice provided the
absence does not exceed 12 months duration. Examples include maternity or paternity
leave, sick leave and long service leave.
The College expectation with respect to CPDP aligns with the Recency of Practice Standard
of the Medical Board of Australia, which specifies the following requirements to be met prior
to return to work according to certain circumstances:

For medical practitioners absent from practice for up to 12 months, there are no
additional requirements prior to recommencing practice
•
For medical practitioners with at least two years’ experience who are absent from
practice for up to three years are required to complete the equivalent of one year’s
pro rata CPDP activities relevant to their scope of practice prior to recommencement
•
Medical practitioners with at least two years’ experience who are absent from practice
for more than three years are required to submit to the Board of Education and
Assessment, prior to return to work, a prospective program of activities to
demonstrate that their knowledge and skills will be maintained at a satisfactory
standard. This may include working under supervision and completing specific
education and/or assessment (see Policy 1/1997: Retraining).
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Medical practitioners with less than two years’ experience in their field of practice
prior to a leave of absence of 12 months or more:
The Recency of Practice Standard of the Medical Board of Australia in this circumstance
requires the practitioner to work under supervision in a training position approved by the
Board. Thus new Fellows would need to comply with this requirement and submit appropriate
evidence of CPDP during this period of supervision.
Note new Medical Board of Australia Standards for Continuing Professional Development
and Recency of Practice apply from 1 October 2016. The new Policies contain changes for
medical practitioners with limited or restricted registration and for medical practitioners
intending to change their scope of practice.
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